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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23180827">the great gift of a burden</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesphantasmal/pseuds/aesphantasmal'>aesphantasmal</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>superpowers au [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Other, This may be a series, i love me some sun lesbian/moon lesbian imagery, juno is just a bit fucked up, nureyev is even less nureyev then he normally pretends to be, this is just an intro to the superpowered au which is just canon but they have powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 16:00:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23180827</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aesphantasmal/pseuds/aesphantasmal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody knows where the powers came from. Radiation, strange outputs from new stars, previously unknown chemicals leaching into drinking water, alien DNA interfering with human DNA, government experiments, Juno's heard it all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>superpowers au [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673617</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>244</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the great gift of a burden</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>a lot of this was written with help from captain-aurinko and gaytypo/gothvespa for ideas (all tumblrs)<br/>I may write more? someone else might? idk man</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Buddy Aurinko glows like the sun.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It varies at different times. Sometimes, she glows bright as day, sometimes as faint as a candle. It's distracting enough that Juno almost doesn't see when a knife slashes across her fingers and doesn't make a scratch in her skin. Right now, in the darkness of the closed bar, it's faint, but the light still shines from her skin and eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ok, so, the big guy's been following me for how long?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Said "big guy" (Juno knew his name was Jet, but he hadn't been </span>
  <em>
    <span>told</span>
  </em>
  <span> that, and given some past events Juno was going to pretend he didn't know until told otherwise) was standing in the doorway. "That information is not relevant to the matter at hand."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Juno, I've seen many things in my life," Buddy said. "But you're the first person I've heard of with two powers."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't you have two? Thought the glowing was separate from the knife proof skin."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buddy raised an eyebrow. "The glowing isn't really a power. It's a secondary effect. You have two entirely unrelated powers. Though, I'm surprised you needed me to tell you this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Juno stared at her for a second. She seemed to be waiting for something, making direct eye contact as if to challenge him. He took a deep breath, and reached for her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had become easier in the close to a year he'd had this ability. He can feel something wet behind his eyepatch, but he ignores it. He focuses for about a minute, then said "You're collecting people. People with useful abilities."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not exactly collecting, darling. And it's not just the abilities that matter. It's how you use them. My friend over here's power would be useless if he didn't care much for machines. And yours could be in much worse hands."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Juno said. "Look, I have some business to finish in Hyperion —"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I know. My friend will return you to Hyperion. But you have a job offer here for you, if you decide to take it after."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Sure."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Buddy held out a hand. Juno shook it, and for the second their hands touched, the glow vanished entirely from Buddy. Then, as soon as they let go, the glow returned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I look forward to hearing from you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't hold your breath."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've tried, boss, but I can't take the entire system down from in here!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rita and Juno sat in Mick Mercury's Newtown apartment, Rita frantically typing on her comms, Mick with the device in his chest deactivated and unconscious in his bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What if I got you more snacks?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"One of those things took me five minutes! How am I supposed to take down all of them? I need to get into the system to destroy it, and I'm pretty sure that means going up to the tower, and those Theia zombies are all over it —"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Rita."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yeah, boss?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If I took the Soul Mick was trying to put onto me and put it on myself..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't like where this is goin', boss…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"... if I did that, could you take control of it and get me where you needed me to go?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I mean —" Rita put her hand over the Soul, hovering a few inches away from it. For a second, the same light that came from the Theias glowed in her eyes. "I think I can, but I don't know if we can risk it, I mean I'm not sure if I can control this thing —"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Rita. You said we have to get up to the Tower, right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Right."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then I trust you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rita sent to hug him, but he held a hand out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Probably not the greatest idea if we don't want Mick to wake back up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Probably," Rita said. She gave him a shoulder pat he could tell was as affectionate as she could make it, and got to work on her comms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I only have one more condition," Juno said to the big guy who's name he was still pretending not to know. "She comes with us," he said, as the door opened, revealing Rita. He had to admit, his dramatic reveal was undercut by knowing Jet and Buddy wanted Rita more than they wanted him, but he couldn't exactly blame them. Hell, based on what he could pick up from Jet's mind, she might be able to get even more powerful, since Jet seemed to think she'd mind-blasted the Theia network rather than releasing a virus into it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That is not your condition, Juno."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know, big guy. Can't blame you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What's goin' on?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"They know you hacked into Dark Matters' systems and got away with it, they know you're a technopath, they want you more than they want me and you'll get more money than me. That everything?" Juno said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I believe so," Jet replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Really?" Rita said, grinning ear to ear. "Aw, that's so nice, Mista…?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Siquiliak. But please, call me Jet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, so she gets a name but I didn't until now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I was under the impression that you had already learned it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Would you have told me if I hadn't?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing Juno sees as the dust clears is the brightest thing there — Buddy Aurinko, who shines like the sun in the dark of the Martian night. Next to her, Vespa Ilkay is barely visible, translucent next to her on the walkway, but she shines in Buddy's light. As Jet Siquiliak pushes his hovercycle onto the walkway of the ship, Juno sees the sand in the mechanisms of the cycle drain out without Jet or anyone else moving them. As he stepped onto the ship, a bolt near the door re-tightened itself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rita is very excited. Juno can feel it coming off her in waves so strong she almost masked the tumult of emotions from the sixth crew member.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man sitting on the hood of the Ruby 7 is, and is not, Peter Nureyev.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Juno's had a lot of practice rooting around in Nureyev's head. He knows it's him. But even though there's hints of Nureyev in the overall look (Around the same height. Darkish hair, though this time it's dark brown, not black, and longer. Similar build,) this is not the face of the man Juno… knew. He looks to be about ten years younger than Juno knows he actually is, with a more square jaw as opposed to Nureyev's more pointed one. His nose is smaller, and his cheekbones are less pronounced. He isn't wearing glasses. His clothing is a lot more understated than Nureyev's usually is — Juno can't see a single piece of jewellery, and even the gloves covering his arm up to the end of his sleeves are fairly plain. His eyes seem almost yellowish, owl-like, like ones Juno had seen in Nureyev's memories so long ago. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Peter Ransom looks at him and, with a voice that isn't quite the one Juno came to know, said "Hello, Juno. It's been a while."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comment 🗡️</p></blockquote></div></div>
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